Pentimento: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Pentimento noun. A trace of an earlier painting or a change of mind that shows through later layers of paint.
How to say it
pen-tih-MEN-toh/ˌpɛntɪˈmɛntəʊ/
4 syllables, stressed on the third (MEN).
Pentimento in a sentence
X-rays revealed a pentimento: the sitter had first been painted holding a dog.
As the top coat thins with age, a ghostly pentimento of a second hand appears on her shoulder.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- underpainting
- trace
- ghost image
Where pentimento comes from
Italian for repentance, from pentirsi, to repent.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
As the top coat thins with age, a ghostly _____ of a second hand appears on her shoulder.
- coda
- pentimento
- cognoscenti
Show the answer
pentimento: As the top coat thins with age, a ghostly pentimento of a second hand appears on her shoulder.